Includes index.

PART ONE: NUTS AND BOLTS: Begin sentences with subjects and verbs -- Order words for emphasis -- Activate your verbs -- Be passive-aggressive -- Watch those adverbs -- Take it easy on the -ings -- Fear not the long sentence -- Establish a pattern, then give it a twist -- Let punctuation control pace and space -- Cut big, then small -- PART TWO: SPECIAL EFFECTS: Prefer the simple over the technical -- Give key words their space -- Play with words, even in serious stories -- Get the name of the dog -- Pay attention to names -- Seek original images -- Riff on the creative language of others -- Set the pace with sentence length -- Vary the lengths of paragraphs -- Choose the number of elements with a purpose in mind -- Know when to back off and when to show off -- Climb up and down the ladder of abstraction -- Tune your voice -- PART THREE: BLUEPRINTS: Work from a plan -- Learn the difference between reports and stories -- Use dialogue as a form of action -- Reveal traits of character -- Put odd and interesting things next to each other -- Foreshadow dramatic events and powerful conclusions -- To generate suspense, use internal cliffhangers -- Build your work around a key question -- Place gold coins along the path -- Repeat, repeat, and repeat -- Write from different cinematic angles -- Report and write for scenes -- Mix narrative modes -- In short works, don't waste a syllable -- Prefer archetypes to stereotypes -- Write toward an ending -- PART FOUR: USEFUL HABITS: Draft a mission statement for your work -- Turn procrastination into rehearsal -- Do your homework well in advance -- Read for both form and content -- Save string -- Break long projects into parts -- Take an interest in all crafts that support your work -- Recruit your own support group -- Limit self-criticism in early drafts -- Learn from you critics -- Own the tools of your craft.